


Waiting

by OpalTheFluffmaker



Category: Catherine (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, I'm sorry I'm new here and I'm still getting used to tagging stuff, The sheep guys aren't really the main characters but still, minor character death?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 20:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15373032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalTheFluffmaker/pseuds/OpalTheFluffmaker
Summary: The absence of one sheep on the landing drives Todd to worry over his subordinate in reality.





	Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> Basically a thing I wrote a while back based on what happens if Vincent saves Todd but lets Archie die in the game.
> 
> There's no real shipping, but it's kinda implied? I do ship them together, but...no romance happens or anything :P
> 
> Lots of angst, but I hope you like it anyway ;u;

_"Archie Wallace, age 28..."_

\---------

The regent-haired man managed to climb upon the last platform before the landing. He stopped for a moment and sat down, letting out a heavy sigh before catching his breath.

"Whew...finally, the next landing...I was starting to think I wouldn't be able to get past that..."

After resting for a moment, Todd stood up and made his way to the landing. He went over to the book on the podium to sign it so he could save his place.

_I'll stop here to take a break for a bit, maybe catch up with the others about techniques..._

As he wrote in the book, he looked around the area. The merchant sheep was in his usual position, and a few other sheep were sitting around in different places. A crazy sheep with what appeared to be a big, red mane was standing near the confessional booth, giggling maniacally to himself. Not very far from that sheep was one with a striped tie, muttering to himself about how he'd "get her back".

Todd simply assumed that that sheep was crazy too.

Finally, he looked off to the side, where the group would normally meet up to discuss techniques. He saw the sheep wearing glasses and a vest, the blonde-haired sheep with the sunglasses and scarf, and the sheep wearing a police hat. The sheep with fluffy black hair wasn't there yet, but Todd wasn't too worried--that one normally arrived a couple minutes late. But...

_Wait a second...there's one less sheep there than I remember. The long-haired one...he didn't...die...right??_

The regent-haired man walked over to the group, and all three other sheep looked his way, the glasses-wearing one waving to him in greeting.

"Oh, you're here! It's good to see you're okay!" The sheep with glasses gave him a warm smile as he said this, as if he was legitimately happy to see that he was alive. "Do you want to talk about techniques?"

"Eh, maybe later," Todd answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I have something else on my mind right now."

The sheep with glasses tilted his head a bit to the side. "What's that?"

"Did you see that guy with the long hair around here?" Todd asked.

An expression of worry came to the glasses-wearing sheep's face. "Now that you mention it...I don't think I ever saw him climb up here. He could be taking a little longer--that last stage _was_ a lot harder than the other ones."

"I hope that's all it is." Todd exhaled softly, ducking his head downward a bit. "...to be honest...I think I might know him. In reality, I mean."

"Is that so?" the sheep with glasses asked.

"Yeah..." The regent-haired man gave a small nod. "There's this guy who works for me...his name's Archie. He's kinda stand-offish, a little uptight, but he's a good guy. He's my best friend...well, I don't know how he feels about me, but...to me, he's the closest friend I've had in a _while._ "

He hesitated in his speech, as if waiting for the other sheep's encouragement to continue. Once the other sheep nodded, he spoke up again.

"He's got long brown hair that reaches just at his shoulders. That sheep had it too, along with this red tie that kinda looks like the one I see him wear at work. I didn't talk to him much down here, but thinking back on it now...his voice sounded similar too. And now...I'm just putting the pieces together, and..."

His voice trailed off. His jacket-clad shoulders began to tremble as he remembered what had happened earlier. His entire body started tensing up as his fear became more and more evident.

"Go on," the glasses-wearing sheep coaxed him gently.

"...this morning...when I came over to pick him up and drive him to work...he wouldn't open the door. I kept knocking and calling out his name, but he never showed up. On my break, and after work, I went back over to his place to check on him, but he still wouldn't answer...the last thing I did tonight was try to call him, but he wouldn't pick up the phone..." Todd did everything he could to keep himself together, taking a deep breath before continuing. "...a-and, n-now that I'm thinking back on this...he seemed really stressed out the day before. I tried talking to him, but he wouldn't tell me anything. He just told me to get away from him..."

"If he's in this nightmare with us," the glasses-wearing sheep speculated, "then he had good reason to be stressed."

"Fuck," Todd muttered. "Why didn't I realize it sooner...?! I shoulda talked to him in here more, then maybe..."

"You mustn't assume the worst just yet," the sheep with glasses reassured him. "He joined us frequently in our meetings, and came up with plenty of techniques with us. And I just saw him last night, at the Clock Tower...he has to have a strong will to survive if he made it that far. It's the truth."

"I guess so...but..."

"He's probably just running a little late," the glasses-wearing sheep said, giving a comforting smile. "Just wait around a bit longer, and you'll most likely see him come up."

"Yeah...you're probably right. I...I--I think I just need to be alone for now."

The sheep with glasses nodded. "I understand. Feel free to talk to us anytime."

Todd walked away from the group and went over to sit by the podium, keeping his eyes locked on the stairs below and hoping he'd see the long-haired sheep climbing up them. After a couple of minutes, he saw a pair of sheep arms holding onto one step, and he leaned in closer with anticipation...only to back off a bit in disappointment when he saw short, fluffy black hair instead of long brown hair.

The black-haired sheep walked over to him after signing the book on the podium, and Todd looked up at him.

"Hey...you see him?" he asked. "You know, the guy with the long hair who talks about techniques and stuff? I think he works for me..."

The black-haired sheep shook his head in response, with a look of concern on his face.

The regent-haired man looked back down at the ground and sighed.

"I'm an old man. There's no point in me surviving..."

A few minutes passed, and everyone else had left the landing. Todd kept watching the stairs, hoping that the long-haired sheep would come up soon. But he never came.

"Maybe...M-Maybe h-he just went ahead to the floor above?" Todd asked himself. His voice was quiet, but anyone who heard it could tell that he was growing desperate. "Yeah, that's it...he has to be on the next landing...h-he's GOT to be!"

Once he was finally convinced by his false hope, Todd hurried into the confessional booth. The next several minutes were a blur to him--he remembered telling the voice to shut the hell up and just give him his question, but all he remembered was just pulling on a rope at random without even focusing on the question or the answers. He kept his thoughts focused on Archie as the confessional flew up to the next trial.

During the trial itself, Todd climbed like there was no tomorrow, but at the same time he kept a look out for the long-haired sheep, in case he was climbing there too, or was having difficulty doing so. He made it to the red platform without even a single glimpse of him.

When he made it up to the next landing, the long-haired sheep was still nowhere in sight. He went over to the group again, panic now clearly showing on his face.

"Did you see him?" he asked. "At all? Did he leave...?"

"I never saw him come up," the sheep with glasses answered, his voice a bit lower and a look of heavy concern in his eyes.

Todd threw his arms up in the air and walked away, and sat himself down by the podium once again. He gazed down at the ground, wondering if he would even see the long-haired sheep again--wondering if he would see Archie again.

"Archie," he murmured under his breath. "He's not here either...dammit..."

He looked over at the stairs, prepared to keep an eye out for him again, unaware of the black-haired sheep listening in on him. "I'm waiting...until he comes, I'll keep on waiting..."

"I understand how you feel, but..."

Todd quickly looked towards the source of the voice, only to see the black-haired sheep standing there, giving him a worried look. He narrowed his eyes and huffed.

"But? But what?" he snapped.

"...didn't you say on the first landing tonight that you'd leave behind anyone who sat around too long?" the black-haired sheep asked.

"Not Archie," the regent-haired man answered firmly. "I'm not leaving him behind, ever."

"A-Archie would want you to go on, wouldn't he?"

"Don't talk about him like that. Like--Like he's already dead. He can't be dead. Not now."

The black-haired sheep let out a light sigh and walked away, knowing that nothing he would say could change this decision. Todd turned his back to the sheep behind him and kept watching the stairs. He wasn't going anywhere until he saw Archie again, and no one could convince him to do otherwise.

A few minutes later, the landing was empty. Todd was still in the same position, eyes never leaving the stairs, still hoping to see Archie come up.

"I'm not leaving him behind," Todd repeated to himself. "I'm waiting. I'm waiting until he comes."

Soon, he felt the ground beneath him begin to shake, and he immediately knew that the landing was about to fall. Even as he descended into oblivion, he still attempted to convince himself that Archie was safe.

_Maybe he's already on the stage above...maybe he's already facing the "big one"...maybe he's already escaped..._

If only he could believe himself.

**_Thud._ **

Todd found himself lying on his back, letting out a weak groan in response to his excruciating pain. The distance between him and the top of the corridor seemed to have no end, and it was a real struggle to move around at all. But as he managed to look around him, he saw something that gave him the motivation to go through with it.

It was the body of the long-haired sheep, lying lifelessly next to him. The ground right underneath him, along with some places in his wool, was stained red--Todd knew damn well where it came from. And the expression on his face was a mixture of horror and defeat.

"...Arch--...Archie..." Todd reached for the sheep with extreme difficulty and grabbed onto his shoulder. He pulled him closer to himself and held onto him as tightly as he could.

"I...I could've protected you...fuck, I...I-I could've fucking protected you...! I...Goddammit, Archie..."

He felt tears begin to build up in his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had ever cried. He let out his sobs, but kept them as quiet as possible, in case anyone could hear the noises from down below. He buried his face in the long-haired sheep's wool as he cried himself to unconsciousness.

"...I'm sorry, Archie...I...I'm so sorry...I should've been there...I-I should've...tried harder...I'm sorry I let this happen to you..."

Eventually he lost all feeling in his body. Eventually his vision faded out.

Two dead sheep--two dead men--were lying at the bottom of the abyss, the regent-haired one still clinging onto the long-haired one.

\---------

_"Todd Bozeman, age 45..."_


End file.
